GRACE, Saved
by Sophie9
Summary: This is the sequel to Saving Grace. To fully understand this story, I strongly advise that you read that one first.


I hate how 7th Heaven has become a huge soap opera over the years, employing god knows how many people who shouldn't even be called actors. Needless to say, I really do like the original pre-complete drama-fest 7H. So, I'm gonna keep it that way. But people may pop in or out just because THIS IS MY STORY AND I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT! Basically, whatever I don't like from the show, maybe depending on my current mood as well, ain't gonna be in this story. Oh, but Kevin will, cuz I think he's hot. ;)

"Well, this is….," she sniffed in the affected manner of a snob, looking down her nose at whatever was directly in front of her.

"Nice," she finished, after what seemed a decade later in her 'polite' voice.

The voice she used when she spoke on the lower class wretches of the street, the ones who were supposedly too stupid or backward to do any better for themselves.

"Which is why," Grace remembered her saying, "we deign to give to them. It is our duty as courteous well off citizens of this country."

Grace could do nothing to stop her, assuage her, convince her of the true reality, when the woman had already made up her mind. Grace didn't need to hear the woman's thoughts to know what it was, a hovel. A filthy low class hole-in-the-wall. A place pregnant with all the makings of poverty drunkenness and street life. If was scarcely a curb's height from outright scavenging for food or drugs on the night streets.

But it was her home. Hers. And she loved it. It was all she needed. It was more than she'd ever had in her whole life. Although… when you compared it to what they had, it was nothing. Less than nothing.

She sighed, trapped and helpless as heartless people who used to be her step-family looked over her new home, under the guise of dropping of her old mail. She didn't consider them to be any part of her family anymore. Now that she had her own home (er, apartment) she didn't need to see any of them ever again.

Assholes, she thought, glaring at the floor.

"Well, this is lovely!" The sudden warm voice made her jump with shock, nearly stupefying her in it's unexpectedness.

"Look at the light that comes in here! And everything is so lovingly arranged. My first kitchen was a mess!"

Lovingly arranged! The words, their truth were so strong it felt like a stab to her heart. Yes! She wanted to cry, That's it! That's exactly it! Love. With love! That's what makes things matter! I don't have much but I love what I do have. Well, I'm doing the best I can, she added silently, ashamed.

When she saw Annie walk out of the kitchen, her face lit with genuine happiness, Grace thought it the most wonderful thing in the world. It brought more light into her small abode than all her large windows.

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

Annie! She screamed, running towards the woman. Annie smiled and embraced her firmly, not letting go for a long, long time.

"It's so good to see you!" She enthused, her arms still tightly around Grace. And Grace knew she was speaking the truth.

"I, well we, wanted to wait until things had settled down a bit." She released Grace, and stepped back to look at her.

"Till you were settled in. I just thought I'd stop by, since Ruthie's at school and Eric's at the church with Lucy right now."

Grace made a face and shrugged. The shame she felt from her step-families' visit still weighing on her.

"I know it doesn't look very nice," she apologized, "and not everything's unpacked.." She motioned to the room that had once seemed like a castle, then quickly turned into quicksand of nothingness.

"Doesn't look nice?" Annie seemed aghast. She motioned in the same way Grace had, "This...THIS is WONDERFUL!"

She walked around the room, which really was all there was to it, past the closet that was a bathroom, and the other closet that was a kitchen, her arms outstretched as if showing off proudly some national marvel, "This is absolutely perfect!"

"You think so?" Grace squeaked hesitantly.

Annie nodded, brim-full of assurance. "I know so," she answered.

"Well, here it is." Grace jumped at the sniffing condescending voice in her ear, and dumbly managed to grab at a handful of mail addressed to her.

Her step-family and her father were all lined up at the door. Impatiently. The oldest checking her watch, the youngest rolling her eyes and tapping her foot.

Grace's old step-mother shook her head. "Really Grace, it's a disgrace...someone we know living like this. It's embarrassing!"

She took one last look around, disgusted, and shook her head. Then she raised it again to its usual high vantage point and walked briskly to the door.

The man who used to be her father walked out first, without so much as a glance at Grace, followed quickly by his step-daughters and wife.

Once the door had closed, Grace could clearly hear,

"You'll shower the minute we get home girls, don't worry. I'm not about to let the ruin of that place cling to any of us at all."

"Mom! I smell like poor people!" One of them whined, the girl who used to be Grace's youngest step-sister. "You can't get that smell out!"

"Well, we'll go shopping then. You can throw all this out."

The sound of high heels clicked further and further away.

"Honestly, that some people can live in such conditions disgusts me."

Despite her newly acquired freedom from the people who'd just left her home, their open disapproval of her home stabbed at her heart and made her feel terribly, terribly small. Only a short time before she'd felt rich and gleeful with her new home acquisition. Now she felt inadequate and shabby. Dejected and miserable.

After all they've done to me, you'd think the last little thing they could ever give me was some peace.

She sighed and turned around, thankful for Annie's presence to lessen the blow to her pride.

"Why did you wait so long before coming to see me again? All these years?"

But she wasn't there.

"Annie?" She called out.

"Annie?"


End file.
